Matthew Purke in my opinion is the best prep prospect available for the 2009 draft. This may surprise some people, but I actually have Purke #2 overall at this point in time, behind only Stephen Strasburg. That's how good I think he could be if he's able to stay healthy, not that there's any reason to believe that he won't outside of the usual concern with young arms. Purke has a slender frame, yet he's a well-proportioned overall athlete with plenty of room to fill out as his body starts to mature into his early 20's. He throws from a low three-quarters delivery that creates a fair amount of deception, and his arm action is so effortless it makes it look as though he isn't putting much stress on his arm. The ball explodes out of his hand, as he can touch 95 with his fastball and sits comfortably in the 89-92 range, and there's a little bit of natural, late sinking movement to his fastball. While he does maintain his velocity deep into ballgames at this stage in his career, filling out and adding more muscle mass should only help him continue to do so, not only over the course of a game, but over the course of a much longer season. His arm action is tailor-made for a slider, a pitch that comes out of his hand looking like a fastball that explodes in on the hands of right-handed batters and away from left-handed swingers. Purke also throws a nice changeup that is advanced for his age, but doesn't throw it as often given the success of his fastball-slider combination. A talented overall athlete, he fields his position well and also is a gifted hitter that plays first base when he's not pitching. In addition to his physical attributes, Purke also receives high marks for his character. Not only does he have a good head on his shoulders, but he is also very confident in his abilities and has a nasty competitive streak that causes him to want the ball and exceed in the highest pressure situations. During the summer of 2008 Purke pitched for the Aflac All-American Classic, the Under Armour Classic, the Perfect Game National Showcase, the Tournament of the Stars and for the Team USA 18U National Team. He has committed to play for Texas Christian University, but I highly doubt he ever steps foot on campus.

The Red Sox select Reymond Fuentes, CF. Can't find much on him, and they were all pretty schoked over this.

Yankees select- Zach Heathcott, OF

Rays select- Levon Washington, 2B

Cubs select- Brett Jackson, CF

The panel is really uninformed. ESPNs Keith Law had them in on Fuentes for weeks. Also, Franklin was the only guy not in his top 100 and thats the guy the panel thought was a terrific pick. Seattle is back! Franklin is gritty! He's gutsy!! (That means hes an unathletic, white middle infielder folks)

Edit number two, now that I have a post here anyway: does drafting Fuentes open up more of a door for the Sox to trade Kalish/Reddick/Lin, does it make you think they're not as high on those guys (or even Jason Place, though he's not really the same sort of player) as we might be, or are they just picking the best player regardless of need?

Summary: Wilson came into the year as a potential first-rounder after failing to sign with the Cubs last summer as a redshirt sophomore, but a promising start to his junior year sputtered out and his draft potential is very much in question. As a starter, Wilson will sit 92-95 mph and hold most of his velocity through six or seven innings, with a hard slurve from 80-84 mph that can miss bats. Texas A&M removed Wilson from the rotation in early April despite a very strong strikeout rate, and his stuff and strikeout rate have both been down since he moved to the bullpen. That could be fatigue, it could be an injury, but whatever it is, it's not a good sign. He's had Tommy John surgery already and his delivery has effort in it, all of which has come together to push his draft stock down.

Sox FO seeming to look for upside here with a toolsy HS OF and a injury risk RHP

"Mississippi's high schools could produce some high-round draftees, like South Panola shortstop David Renfroe, an Ole Miss signee.

Renfroe says he only wants to play infield and doesn't want to be considered as a pitcher, even though he has a fastball in the mid-90s. That could hurt his draft stock, but ESPN.com's Keith Law recently wrote that Renfroe could go as high as the second round.

"I just really want to be an every day player," Renfroe said. "I'm really excited about tomorrow and I'm anxious to see what happens."

Renfroe said the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners have shown the most interest."

Youtube shows him hitting a HR in Wrigley with a wood bat, which is always nice to see.

Pick #2 concerns me a bit. He may have been the best on the boards, not sure haven't looked at it retrospectively but the MLB eval says the following.

"Wilson red-shirted in 2008, his first season at A&M after coming over from Winthrop, following Tommy John surgery. If early starts were any indication, he seemed to be all the way back with an array of above-average pitches. He goes right after hitters and while he's a little maximum-effort with his delivery, he maintains it deep into starts..."

I know, lots of guys do fine after TJ surgery but combine anyone saying a kid is "maximum effort" and being post surgery concerns me about the overall wear and tear on that elbow over the development years and any hopes that he has a reasonable return on investment (not just money but coaching time, roster slot time etc.). I guess the whole draft is a crap shoot but this looks like a stretch. I would have preferred David Hale also a college RHP about the same height and weight but a year younger, who by scouting reports has " two plus pitches: a 92-93 mph fastball with good arm-side run and a changeup that he throws 20 mph slower with excellent arm speed. His slider could develop into a third solid pitch. Hale's three-quarters arm angle accentuates the life on his fastball." His weakness per those reports is that at times his command leaves him. Not unusual for a developing pitcher. Hale went to the Braves a few slots later in the draft.

Auburn running back/linebacker signee Brandon Jacobs has signed a professional baseball contract with Boston after the Red Sox selected him in the 10th round of the Major League draft on Wednesday, according to our friends at AuburnSports.com. Jacobs told Inside the Auburn Tigers that the Red Sox have agreed to pay for his college education.

Jacobs told AuburnSports.com he signed for second-round money, which may mean upwards to $800,000.